More than 160 people gathered at Highlands United Methodist Church downtown June 28 for the first of four planned North Alabama (regional) Conference Faithful Conversations about the state’s new immigration law.

The law, which will take effect Sept. 1, would require schools and businesses to use the federal government’s E-Verify system to check the legal status of students and employees. It also would allow police to arrest people suspected of being in the country illegally if they were stopped for another reason and make it illegal to shelter or transport illegal immigrants.

The General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) is part of a multi-agency project working to discern how local churches maintain and encourage congregational vitality.

For the past decade, Jose Antonio Vargas has pursued success in journalism. In addition to winning a Pulitzer Prize with the Washington Post for his coverage of the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, he has also covering a variety of topics including presidential politics, and even scored an exclusive interview with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Throughout all of his early success, however, Vargas harbored a huge secret: he was living and working in the United States illegally.

Facing the Future affirmed for many that when the church chooses to respond to diversity with integrity, it can be a significant key to church vitality and growth.

Up to $300,000 in grants is being offered to clergy leaders and UM seminaries whose ideas and programs help strengthen The United Methodist Church's ability to maximize racial diversity and inclusiveness among leadership, congregations and beyond.

GCORR is offering FREE MONEY to those willing to maximize racial diversity and inclusivity in ministry and strengthen the United Methodist Church. (Disclaimer: You need to meet specific grant requirements in order to receive funds.)

United Methodist Bishop William Willimon, head of the North Alabama Conference, has called Alabama's new immigration law the "meanest" in the nation and an embarrassment to the state.

"The purpose feels like intimidation and meanness," Willimon said.

Willimon said some of his Methodist clergy in Alabama penned an open letter to Gov. Robert Bentley, who signed it into law last week, and to sponsors of the immigration bill, calling it an unjust law. "It was a statement of concern from the grassroots clergy," Willimon said. Willimon has distributed the letter with his endorsement. The Methodist bishop for south Alabama, Paul W. Leeland, has also issued a statement opposing the law.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley signed a "tough illegal immigration law," his press office said. The bill is considered by both supporters and critics to be among the toughest in the nation, even stricter than controversial laws in Arizona and Georgia.

U.S. Senate candidate George Allen of Virginia is sticking with his Alexandria church despite rumblings within the congregation over the church's decision to allow Muslims to pray there on Fridays while a nearby Mosque is being renovated.

Reaching More Diverse People

How effective is the United Methodist Church in reaching the increasingly diverse population of the United States? Recent research by the Lewis Center in cooperation with the Research Office of the General Board of Global Ministries provides a snapshot of the denomination's success through 2009 in reaching more racially diverse people.